


Graffiti on the Walls of the Heartland

by Redrikki



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: 4 Things, Canon Character of Color, Canon Disabled Character, Gen, Misses Clause Challenge, Women Being Awesome, Yuletide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-06 14:34:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8756359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redrikki/pseuds/Redrikki
Summary: Three works of art Sabine made for crew members and one she made for herself.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inkasrain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkasrain/gifts).



_**1\. Chopper** _

There was something awful about the smell of paint stripper. It was the scent of failure, of someone’s melted artistic vision. Sabine hated the stuff. Unfortunately, it was also the fastest way to remove Chopper’s imperial paint job. Sabine slathered it on and waited for the paint to start to bubble.

“You know,” Sabine said as she began scraping off the loosened paint, “since I’m repainting you anyway, maybe we could try something different.” She was thinking she could do a white base coat and then sponge paint his body with bright colors. A checkerboard pattern on his legs would make a great contrast. Then she’d cap it all off with a rebel starbird on the top of his dome. “You could be a real work of art.”

“Whaaa!” The droid zoomed away from her, dripping a trail of paint stripper. He raised his arms defensively to ward her off. “Whie whem whee,” he insisted.

Sabine dropped her scraper and raised her hands to show she was unarmed. “I know you’re you, Chop. I just thought you might want to change things up.”

Chopper grumbled and flailed his arms some more before Sabine managed to coax him back on the drop cloth so she could finish scrapping off the black. He rumbled with pleasure as she rubbed him down with mineral oil and rinsed him off.

“Okay, Chop, last chance,” Sabine said as she laid out her paints. “You sure about keeping your old look?” 

Chopper pointed emphatically at the orange paint. “Whomp whah.” 

“Okay, fine,” Sabine said with a resigned sigh. “One orange-and-white masterpiece coming up.” 

As she worked, Sabine was tempted to add a little something extra, a tiny starbird maybe, somewhere he’d never see it. Except, Chopper was trusting her to give her the look he wanted, just like she trusted him to have her back out in the field. As much as she might want to give the droid a makeover, this wasn’t about her artistic vision. Instead, Sabine carefully reapplied Chopper’s usual orange with yellow trim. Graffiti was what you put on the Empire’s walls, not on your friends.

_**2\. Hera** _

It was already far from Sabine’s best work and it wasn’t even done yet. She had sketched it out in pencil first before going over it in ink. Now all her critical eyes could see were the mistakes and lines she hadn’t managed to erase. This was why her preferred mediums were spray paint and explosives: neither left time for regret. Maybe it would look better once she added color. The problem was that Hera had just been promoted to Phoenix Squadron Leader and Sabine wanted her present to be perfect.

Hera actually gasped when she saw it. Her hand flew to her mouth and, for a second, Sabine thought the other woman might cry. She hated it. It was awful. Sabine swallowed hard. “Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s fine,” Hera said. “It’s beautiful.” She reached out, but held back at the last minute, as if afraid to touch. Her fingers hung frozen above the image of her own face. “Is this really how you see me?” she asked, her voice oddly husky.

Sabine had captured Hera in her element behind the yoke of an A-wing fighter. Her eyes were fiery and her chin determined. Her lekku streamed out behind her as if blown back by the speed of her flight. The Hera in Sabine’s drawing looked every inch the hero Sabine had always seen her to be.  
“Well, yeah,” Sabine said with a shrug, suddenly uncomfortable. Did Hera really not know what she meant to Sabine? Wasn’t it obvious? “How else would I see you?”

Hera smiled tremulously, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Thank you, Sabine.” She pulled her into a hug. “I love it.”

“Well, I had good muse.” Sabine said, squeezing Hera tight. It wasn’t how Sabine had envisioned it, but it seemed like her present was perfect after all.

_**3\. Kanan** _

Kanan reached out blindly to where he’d left his mask. Blindly. Now that was something they were all struggling to get used to. Without the mask or bandages he’d been hiding behind, Kanan’s scar wasn’t so bad. Any Mandalorian would be proud of it. No, it was his eyes that made Sabine glad he wore the mask. They used to be a beautiful blue-green, but the lightsaber that had stolen his sight had drained their color as well. Sabine shivered as the colorless eyes turned her way. Freaky.

“Here.” Sabine thrust the mask at him.

Kanan hesitated and Sabine felt like kicking herself. She’d just been thinking about him being blind. How hard would it have been to just hand him the damn thing? 

Before she could do just that, Kanan reached out and plucked the mask from her hand like he could still see exactly where it was. “Thanks.” His fingers skated across the surface. “Feels like…” Kanan’s brow furrowed in concentration. “There’s something on here.”

“I painted it,” Sabine admitted nervously. She hadn’t asked, she’d just taken it. Kanan had been, well, off since Malachor and it had seemed safer to beg for forgiveness than try for permission. Now she wasn’t so sure. “Thought it could use a little something.” Talking to the blank, face-eating mask had just gotten too disconcerting. “I can scrape it off if you want.”

“Am I gonna look like a rainbow threw up on me?” Kanan almost looked like his old self as his lips quirked into a lopsided smile. All was forgiven then. Sabine’s shoulders slumped in relief. 

“No.” Sabine shook her head, then remembered he couldn’t see it. It was amazing how easy his blindness was to forget, even when they were in the middle of dancing around it. “Very discreet. I promise.”

“I guess I’ll have to take your word for it,” Kanan said as he slipped the mask on. There was a hint of bitterness in his voice, but his smile was genuine. “Thanks, Sabine. I’m sure it’s beautiful.”

Sabine looked him right in his freshly-painted jaig eyes. On Mandalor, the sigil was reserved for only the most valiant, and it was here too, a hundred times over. He didn’t know it, but Kanan finally looked like the warrior he’d always been. “My pleasure.” 

_**+1 Sabine** _

Sabine turned this way and that in front of her mirror, studying her reflection. The black dye had washed right out, but her hair wasn’t right. The frosted lavender still darkened into a deep purple, but the luster was gone. Maybe she should just start over, bleach it all. She could do green and gold this time.  
No. Sabine was done remaking herself for the Empire. All she needed was a little touch up. She pawed through her collection of dyes until she found what she was looking for. Metallic silver. A few discrete highlights really refreshed her look. Sabine shook her head, enjoying the way the light glinted off her hair.

An hour later, Sabine ran into Wedge in the hallway. “Wow,” he said, stepping back to take her in from the tips of her purple hair to the toes of her paint-spattered boots. “That’s a new look.”

Sabine glanced down at her armor and fluffed out her hair. “Not really. This my usual when I’m not undercover as a Imperial stooge.”

Wedge rubbed the back of his neck and smiled shyly. Oh, great, another puppy with a crush on her. “It suits you.”

Sabine just smiled. Colorful, beautiful, and free? Damn right it did.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [ prepare4trouble](http://archiveofourown.org/users/prepare4trouble/pseuds/prepare4trouble) for the beta.


End file.
